Multiple position reclining chair



March 12, 1963 F.'F. SCHLIEPHACKE 3,0

MULTIPLE POSITION RECLINING 0mm Filed Oct. 28, 1958 '4 Sheets-Sheet l Rm m V m BY M V ATTaRMY8 FIG. 2.

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F. F. SCHLIEPHACKE MULTIPLE POSITION RECLINING CHAIR Filed v Obh 28},1958 IN VENTOR. FQ/OTJOF A SC/ll IA'PHA CK! Mam! 1953 F, F. scHuEH-IAcKE3,081,128

' MULTIPLE POSITION RECLINING 0mm Filed 0m. 28, 195-8 4 Sheets-Sheet 4INVENTOR.

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United States Patent 3,081,128 MULTIPLE POSITION RECLINING CHAIR Fntd ofF. Schliephacke, Berlin-Schmargendorf, Germany, assignor to AntonLorenz, Boynton Beach, Fla. Filed Oct. 28, 1958, Ser. No. 770,151

Claims. (Cl. 297-88) The present invention relates to improvements inreclining chairs of the type which includes a movable bodysupportingunit comprising a seat and back-rest and a movable leg-rest mounted atthe forward end of the chair for coordinated movement with thebody-supporting unit. In particular, this invention relates to areclining chair in which the seat and back-rest are formed as a rigidunit which is mounted on the support for movement between a normalsitting position, an intermediate semireclined or tilted position, and afully-reclined position.

The Well-known reclining chair presently on the market comprisesgenerally a seat and back-rest unit in which the seat and back-rest maybe rigid with each other and pivoted as a unit on the support, or inwhich the seat and back-rest may be independently pivoted on the supportfor movement relative to each other. A leg-rest is normally connectedthrough a linkage to the seat and back-rest unit and/or to the supportin such a manner as to be provided with coordinated movement in responseto movement of the seat and back-rest unit. The usual reclining chairhas been designed to permit the bodysupporting unit to move from anormal upright sitting position in which the leg-rest in in a retractedposition beneath the seat, to a reclined position in which both seat andback-rest are rearwardly reclined and the leg-rest is in an extendedposition.

A recent development in reclining chairs has been the so-called doublemovement chair in which the seat and back-rest are independently mountedon the support for movement relative to each other and in which suchmount ing means are provided as to permit the seat and backrest unit tomove to two distinct positions of repose. The first position of reposeis an intermediate semi-reclined position in which the users body isstill substantially upright with the user in position to read, viewtelevision or the like, and the leg-rest is fully extended to aleg-supporting position. The second position of repose is afullyreclined position in which both the seat and back-rest are inclinedrearwardly at a greater angle and the body is supported in a completelyrelaxed reclining position, with the 1eg-rest maintained in itsextended, leg-supporting position. Such a double-movement recliningchair is disclosed, for example, in my co-pending United States patentapplication, Serial No. 740,215, filed June 6, 1958, now issued asUnited States Patent No. 3,014,758.

According to the present invention I provide a reclining chair which maybe designed as a two-position chair and which differs from theaforementioned double-movement chair in that the seat and back-rest,instead of being movable relative to each other, are formed integrallywith each other or are rigidly and immovably connected to each other toprovide a rigid body-supporting unit. This two-position chair is mountedon the support by mounting means so constructed as to permit the unit toremain in this extended position when the unit is moved furtherrearwardly through various transitory positions to its fully-reclinedposition.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved mountingmeans for movably mounting the body-supporting unit on the support andan improved leg-rest control means which is so co-related to themounting means that the body-supporting unit is caused to follow adesignated path of movement in reachingits inter-mediate tiltedposition, is then caused to follow a different path of movement inreaching its fully-reclined position, and the leg-rest is brought to itsextended position in the intermediate til-ted position of the unit andis locked in this position by a self-locking action of the leg-restcontrol means whereby it is fixed in this extended position duringfurther movement of the unit to its fullyreclined position.

In the illustrated embodiments demonstrating the present invention, theabove object is achieved by mounting the body-supporting unit on thesupport through a pair of spaced guiding members, the forward one ofwhich is in the nature of a link removably seated in a pivot bearing ofthe support. The leg-rest is mounted on a linkage connected to theforward guiding link for movement with the latter. The forward guidinglink is pivoted rearwardly during the movement of the body-supportingunit to its intermediate tilted position, thereby raising the leg-restto its extended position. During further movement of the body-supportingunit to its fully-reclined position, the unit is pivoted rearwardlysolely upon the rear guiding member and the front guiding link is raisedfrom the support bearing and entirely disconnected from the support, thefront guiding link and the leg-rest linkage being carried solely by theseat of the body-supporting unit.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a reclining chair ofthe character described in which the leg-rest is locked in its extendedposition in the fullyreclined position of the body-supporting unit by aself locking positioning of the leg-rest linkage pivots in a straightline, thereby affording an effective and yet extremely economicallocking means.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentduring the course of the following specification when taken inconnection With the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a reclining chair made inaccordance with the invention, showing the bodysupporting unit in itsupright or sitting position, parts of the chair being broken away toreveal internal construction;

FIG. 2 is an elevation similar to FIG. 1 but showin the body-supportingunit in its intermediate semi-reclined or tilted position with theleg-rest extended;

FIG. 3 is an elevation similar to FIG. 2 but showing the body-supportingunit in its fully reclined position;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged elevational view of the front guiding link, itsguide slot, and the socket mounting it on the support frame;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of another embodi ment of recliningchair made in accordance with the. invention and having a modified typeof guiding means for the body-supporting unit and a modified leg-restlinkage, the body-supporting unit being shown in its upright sittingposition;

FIG. 6 a similar elevational view of the chair of FIG. 5, but showingthe body-supporting unit in its intermediate tilted position with theleg-rest extended; and

'FIG. 7 is an elevation-a1 view of the chair of FIGS. 5 and 6, with thebody-supporting unit shown in its fully reclined position.

Referring in detail to the drawings, there is showna chair including asupport frame or base structure 10 upon which is movably mounted abody-supporting unit designated generally by the reference numeral 12.The latter comprises a seat 14 and a back-rest 16 which are formedintegrally with each other to provide a rigid unit. The body-supportingunit 12 is mounted for rearward tilting movement relative to the supportframe by a linkage arrangement located at the sides of the seat 14-. Onehalf portion of this linkage arrangement i shown in the drawings, namelythe linkage at the right-hand side of the seat 14- as viewed from thefront of the chair, and for convenience only this half will be describedherein. It is understood, however, that such description will also applyto the linkage section at the left-hand side of the seat, which isidentical.

The linkage arrangement includes a pair of spaced guiding links 18 and20 which mount the seat 14 on the support It} for rocking movementbetween a normal sitting position shown in FIG. 1 and a rearwardlytilted position shown in FIG. 2. The rear guiding link 20 is mounted atits lower end on the support It) by a pivot 22 and at its upper end isconnected to the lower end of the seat 14 by a pivot 24.

At its lower end, the front guiding link 18 is connected to one end of apivot rod 26 which extends transversely across the chair and isconnected at its other end to the front guiding link at the left-handside of the seat. The pivot rod 26 is normally seated in a slot orgroove 28 formed in the support 10, or in a plate 27 fixedly secured tothe support, the slot 23 serving as a bearing for turning movement ofthe pivot rod 26. The slot 28 is open at its top end so that the pivotrod 26 may be lifted free thereof during certain movements of the unit12, as will be presently described in greater detail.

The upper end of the front guiding link 18 is pivotally connected to theseat by a pivot 30. At its top end, the front guiding link 18 has anintegral extension member 32 which extends upwardly substantiallyperpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the front guiding link .18.As shown in FIG. 1, the pivot 30 is located at the junction of theextension member 32 with the guiding link 18.

The chair also includes a leg-rest 34 carried by a support rod 36. Thesupport rod 36 has a bent terminal portion 38 which is inclinedforwardly from the axis of the support rod 36, as viewed in FIG. 1. Atthe junction of the support rod with its terminal portion 38, thesupport rod 36 is pivotally mounted on the forward end of the seat 14 bya pivot 40. The free end of the terminal portion 38 is connected by apivot 42 to one end of an actuating link 44. The actuating link 44, inthe position of FIG. 1, extends rearwardly and is connected at its otherend to the upper end of the front guiding link extension member 32 by apivot 46.

The body-supporting unit also carries a depending plate 48 which isrigidly mounted on the bottom of the seat at the central portionthereof. The plate 48 may be of any desired shape so long as it does notinterfere with movement of the linkage and seat, but for convenience isillustrated herein as being formed with a depending arm 480 having atits bottom end an integral rearwardly-extending arm 48b. The arm 48b isprovided with an arcuate slot 50 through which extends the pivot rod 26.In the normal sitting position, the pivot rod 26 is located at the rearend of the slot 50, as shown in FIG. 1, the engagement of the end ofslot 50 with the pivot rod 26 preventing forward movement of the seat 14and therefore preventing the seat from collapsing in the position ofFIG. 1. In the initial rearward movement of the bodysupporting unit 12from its normal sitting position of FIG. 1 to the tilted position ofFIG. 2, the seat 14 moves rearwardly relative to the pivot rod 26 whichis seated in the support slot 28. This rearward movement of the seatcarries the fixed plate 48 rearwardly, and the slot 56 is so shaped asto permit this rearward movement, the slot 50 moving rearwardly relativeto the pivot rod 26 so that in the position of FIG. 2, said pivot rod islocated at the forward end of the slot 50.

The chair also includes a pair of stop members 52 and 54 which arerigidly and immovably formed on the support frame. The stop member 52 ispositioned to engage the rear guiding link 29 when the chair is broughtto its tilted position of FIG. 2, and thereby stop further rearwardpivoting movement of said rear guiding link. The stop member 54 ispositioned to engage the lower surface of the seat 14 when thebody-supporting unit 12 is brought to its fully reclined position, aswill be presently explained.

In operation, when the person sitting in the chair desires to assume amore comfortable position of repose, by leaning rearwardly against theback-rest 16, he can cause the body-supporting unit to pivot rearwardlyto the tilted position of FIG. 2, and at the same time cause the legrest34 to be lifted to a leg-supporting position. This tilted position ofFIG. 2 represents an intermediate tilted position in which thebody-supporting unit 12 is only slightly inclined rearwardly, and theusers body is still in a substantially upright position in which theuser may read, knit, watch television, or the like.

Such rearward pressure on the bac. -rest 16 causes the guiding links 18and 2% to pivot rearwardly about their respective fixed pivots 26 and22, thereby causing the upper ends of the links 1.3 and 28 to describerearward and downward circular arcs and thus causing the correspondingconnected portions of the seat to travel in the same arcuate paths. Itwill be observed that the front guiding link 18, while being ofsubstantially the same length as the rear guiding link 2%, is disposedat a more forwardly inclined position than is the rear guiding link, inthe sitting position of PEG. 1. Consequently, upon rearward movement ofthe seat, the front guiding link 18 Will describe a substantiallyhorizontal arc in which the greatest componcnt of movement will be in ahorizontal direciton without appreciable downward movement. On the otherhand, the arcuate path described by the rear guiding link 29 will beinitially horizontal and will then be in a downward direction. As aresult, the rear portion of the seat will be lowered relative to thefront portion thereof, so that the body-supporting unit 12 is inclinedslightly downwardly and rearwardly in its intermediate tilted position,as shown in FIG. 2.

As the body-supporting unit 12 moves rearwardly to its tilted position,the front guiding link ZS pivots rearward'ly about the pivot rod 26which is maintained seated in the support slot 23. This rearwardpivoting movement of the front guiding link 18 turns its extensionmember 32 rearwardly and downwardly to the position shown in FIG. 2, theextension member 32 turning about the seat pivot 30. During such turningmovement, the end of the extension member 32 pulls downwardly andrearwardly upon the actuating link 44, causing said actuating link toexert a rearward pulling force upon the bent terminal portion 38 of theleg-rest support rod 36. The terminal portion 33 is thus drawnrearwardly, causing the leg-rest support rod 36 to pivot upwardly andforwardly about the pivot 42, and raising the leg-rest 3.4 to itsextended leg-supporting position of FIG. 2 in which it is locatedforwardly of and substantially at the level of the forward end of theseat 14.

At the end of the movement of the body-supporting means to its tiltedposition of FIG. 2, the depending plate 48 moves rearwardly with theseat 14 until the pivot rod 26 is located at the forward end of the slot50. In addition, the rear guiding link 26 pivots rearwardly until itengages the stop member 52 and is limited from further rearwardmovement. The stop member 20 thus holds the body-supporting unit 12 inits intermediate tilted position until the users weight is shiftedfurther rearwardly to bring the body-supporting unit to a fully reclinedposition.

It will be noted the in the tilted position of FIG. 2, the leg-rest 34is located in such a position that the pivots 3t 42 and 46 are locatedsubstantially on a common straight line. This is of importance when theunit is moved to its fully-reclined position as will be presentlyexplained.

If the user desires to return to the normal upright sitting position, itis merely required that he exert slight downward pressure with his legsupon the leg-rest 34. This downward pressure will cause the leg-rest tomove downwardly, causing the leg-rest support rod to pivot rearwardlyabout pivot 40 and the bent terminal portion 38 to move forwardlycarrying the actuating link 44 forwardly with it. The actuating link 44will then draw the "extension member 32 upwardly and forwardly, causingthe front guiding link to pivot forwardly about pivot rod 26 and therebymoving the body-supporting unit back to its normal sitting position ofFIG. 1.

If the user in the tilted position of FIG. 2 wishes to repose in a morecomfortable position, he may, by leaning further backward upon theback-rest 16, cause the bodysupporting unit 12 to move to the fullyreclined position of FIG. 3. In this position the unit 12 is inclinedrearwardly at a more severe angle so that the users body is in areclined, rather than a tilted position.

Since the rear guiding link 20 is in contact with the stop member 52, inthe intermediate position of FIG. 2, the rear guiding link is heldimmovably relative to the support and serves as a rigid extensionthereof. Any further movement of the body supporting unit 12 willtherefore be a pivoting movement about the pivot 24, which now becomes afixed pivot.

Thus, if the user in the intermediate tilted position of FIG. 2, leansrearwardlly against the back-rest, the body supporting unit will pivotrearward-1y about the single fixed pivot point 24. During this pivotingmovement, the front end of the seat is raised, and the pivot rod 26 islifted free of the open-ended slot 28, as shown in FIG. 3. Thus, whilethe initial movement of the body supporting unit from its sittingposition to the intermediate tilted position was a compound movementrearwardly as determined by both guiding links 18 and 20, the furthermovement of the unit from the intermediate tilted position to thefully-reclined position of FIG. 3 is a simple pivotin movement about thefixedly-held pivot 24.

In the fully-reclined position of FIG. 3, the rear end portion of theunit 12 behind the pivot 24 engages the stop member 54 of the support,and the unit 12 is therefore stopped from any further rearward pivotingmovement. In this position, the pivot rod 26 is located well above theslot 28, and the leg rest linkage is supported solely by the seat 14,having no connection to the support. It is important that in thisposition the leg-rest be locked in its extended position so that theweight of the feet upon the leg-rest does not cause the latter tocollapse to its retracted position. 'For this purpose, the location ofthe pivot rod 26 in the forward end of the arcuate slot 511 prevents thepivot rod 26 from moving forwardly, and consequently prevents the frontguiding link extension member 32 from pivoting in a clockwise directionabout pivot 30. At the same time, the location of the pivots 30, 42 and46 on a common straight line prevents the extension member 32 frompivoting in a counter-clockwise direction about the pivot 30. It will beobserved that the weight of the leg-rest or the weight of the users feetsupported by the leg-rest will cause the leg-rest support rod extensionmember 38 to exert a pulling force upon the actuating link 44, whichforce is directed along the axis of said link 44. Because of thestraight line linear relationship of the pivots 3t 42 and 46, theactuating link exerts a pulling force upon the extension member 32 atthe pivot 46, which force is directed substantially along the axis ofthe extension member 32, that is to say in a radial direction toward thepivot 30. Since the force acting upon the free end of extension member32 is radial, rather than circumferential, the extension member 32 willnot turn about its pivot 30. As a result the leg-rest 34 r and itslinkage 36, 38, and 44, is locked from movement r 6 in thefully-reclined position of the unit and is retained in its extendedposition.

When the user wishes to return from the fully-reclined position to theintermediate tilted position or the normal sitting position, he shiftshis weight forwardly from the back-rest and applies downward pressure onthe leg-restJ The body-supporting unit 12 then pivots forwardly aboutthe fixed pivot 24, lowering the forward end of the seat until the pivotrod 26 reenters and becomes seated within the slot 28. The unit is nowin the intermediate tilted position of FIG. 2, and a further shift ofthe users weight forwardly together with a downward pressure on thelegrest will cause the unit to move forwardly and the guiding links 18and 20 to pivot forwardly, retracting the leg rest and retaining theunit to its normal sitting position, in the manner previously described.

The embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 to 7 is similar to that of FIGS. 1 to 4previously described, except that its structure is somewhat modified inemploying a rear guide member in the form of a roller, and .a differenttype of leg-rest control means, In FIGS. 5-7, like parts are given thesame reference numerals, except that these reference numerals are partof a series.

The body-supporting unit 112, including a rigid seat 114 and back-rest116, is again mounted on a support frame by front and rear guidingmeans. The front guiding means again comprises a front guiding link 118connected at its lower end to a pivot rod 126, and mounted at its upperend on the seat 114 by a pivot The pivot rod 126 is normally seated in aslot 128 formed in a plate 127 affixed to the support frame 111?, theslot 128 serving as a bearing for the pivot rod 126 and being open artits top end to permit the pivot rod 126 to .be lifted nected at its freeend to a leg-rest actuating link 144 by a pivot 146.

The rear guiding means in this embodiment comprises a roller 121 mountedon an axle 123 which is fixed to the support frame 110, the rear bottomportion of the bodysupporting unit 112 resting upon the roller 121 andsliding along the latter when the unit is moved from its upright sittingposition of FIG. 5 to its intermediate tilted position of FIG. 6. Thebottom surface of the body-supporting unit 112 is shaped to provide adownwardly and rearwardly-inclined cam surface 114:; which engages theroller 121.

A stop member 125 is rigidly secured to the seat 114 and has anarcuately-shaped end portion 129 depending from the seat at the forwardend of the cam surface 114a. The end portion 129 has a diameter whichconforms to the diameter of the roller 121, and is positioned ,to engageand retain said roller 121 when the body-supporting unit 112 is movedrearwardly to its intermediate tilted position of FIG. 6.

The chair of FIGS. .547 also includes a leg-rest 134 and control andactuating means for moving it between its retracted and extendedposition. The control means includes apair of rearwardly-ex-tendinglinks and 162 connected at spaced points on the leg-rest 134 byrespective pivots 1'64 and 166'. The links 160 and 162 are connected attheir rear ends to the lower ends of respective depending links 168 and17 0' by respective pivots 172 and 174. The upper ends of the dependinglinks 1618 and are pivotally mounted at spaced points 176 and 17 8 onthe seat 114. The rearwardly-extending link 162 crosses over the frontdepending link 168 and is connected thereto by pivot 180 at itscrossing-over point.

The front depending link 168 has about top terminal extension 182 whichis inclined forwardly from the axis The body-supporting unit alsocarries a depending plate- 148 which is rigidly mounted on the bottom ofthe seat 114. The plate 148 has a depending arm 148a which terminates atits bottom end in an integral rearwardly-extending arm 1481). The arm14% is provided with an arcuate slot 150 through which extends the pivotrod 126. In the upright sitting position of FIG. 5, the pivot rod 126'is located at the rear end of the slot 150, the engagement of the end ofslot 150 with the pivot rod 126 preventing forward movement of the seat114.

When the occupant of the chair in the upright sitting position of FIG.wishes to move to a more relaxed position, he applies rearward pressureupon the back-rest 116, causing the rear portion of the body-supportingunit 112 to slide rearwardly along the roller 121, and simultaneouslycausing the front guide link 118 to pivot rearwardly upon the pivot rod126. The forward inclination of the front guide link 118 causes theforward portion of the seat 114 to be slightly raised during thismovement, while the rear portion of the seat is slightly lowered becauseof the rearward and downward inclination of the seat cam surface 11 4awhich traverses the roller 121. In the intermediate position of FIG. 6,therefore, the body-supporting unit 112 is slightly inclined to therear.

The intermediate tilted position is determined by engagernent of thearcuately-shaped end portion 129 of the stop member 125 with the roller121, preventing the rear portion of the seat 114 from moving furtherrearwardly relative to the support frame 110. In addition, the dependingplate 148 has moved rearwardly with the seat 114 so that the forward endof the slot 150 is now in engagement with the pivot rod 126, and sincethe pivot rod 126 is still seated in the fixed bearing 128, thisengagement also prevents further rearward movement of the seat 114.

As the body-supporting unit 112 moves rearwardly to its inter-mediatetilted position of FIG. 6, the front guiding link 113 pivots rearwardlyabout the pivot rod 126 which is maintained seated in the open-endedslot or hearing 128. This rearward pivoting movement of the frontguiding link 1'18 turns its extension member 132 rearwardly anddownwardly about the seat pivot 131 to the position shown in FIG. 6, andthe end of the extension member 132 pulls downwardly and rearwardly uponactuating link 144. The actuating link 144 in turn exerts a rearwardpulling force upon the bent terminal portion 182 of the front dependinglink 168, drawing the same rearwardly, and pivoting the front dependinglink 168 upwardly about its seat pivot 176. The leg-rest control linkageis thus actuated, and the links 160, 162, 168 and 170 cooperate to guidethe leg-rest 134 to its extended position of FIG. 6, forwardly of andsubstantially at the level of the forward end of the seat 114.

It will be appreciated that the leg-rest control structure of FIGS. 5-7constitutes a double four-bar linkage between the leg-rest and the seat.Such structure provides a greater extension of the leg-rest forwardly ofthe seat than in the structure of FIGS. 1-3 wherein the leg-rest ispivotally connected directly to the seat.

When the occupants weight is shifted further rearwardly to move thebody-supporting unit 112 from the intermediate tiltedpositionof FIG. 6to the fully-reclined position of -'FIG. 7, the body supporting unit 112can no longer be moved rearwardly by the cooperative action of the frontguiding link 118 and the rear roller 121, and its further rearwardmotion is therefore limited to a simple pivoting movement about the axle123 of roller 121. This movement continues until the rear end of theunit engages a stop member 154 rigidly secured to the support frame 110to determine the fully-reclined position of FIG. 7.

During the rearward pivoting movement of the bodysupporting unit 112about the roller axle 123, the front portion of the seat 114 is raisedand the pivot rod 126 is lifted from the open-ended slot 128, thedepending plate Y 148, pivot rod 126, front guiding link 118, actuatinglink 144, leg-rest control linkage and leg-rest 134 rising as a unitwith the seat 114, and having no direct connection with the supportframe 110. The leg-rest 134 is locked in its extended position forwardlyof the front end of the seat by the location of the pivot rod 126 at theforward end of the slot and also by the location of pivots 130, 142 and146 on a substantially straight line, as previously explained in detailin connection wtih FIGS. 1-3. The weight of the occupants legs upon theleg-rest 134 will thus not cause the leg-rest linkage to collapse. Tobring the leg-rest to its retracted position and the bodysupporting unitto its upright sitting position, the occupant must shift his body weightforwardly, causing the unit 112 to pivot downwardly to the intermediateposition and then to the upright sitting position.

A latitude of modification, substitution and change is intended in theforegoing disclosure. In some instances. some features of the method andapparatus disclosed herein will be used without a corresponding use ofother features. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the claims beconstrued broadly in a manner consistent with the spirit and scope ofthe invention.

I claim:

1. A reclining chair comprising a support, a rigid seat and back-restunit, and means movably mounting said unit on said support for movementfrom an upright sitting position through a first motion phase to anintermediate tilted position and then for further movement through asecond motion phase from the intermediate tilted position to afully-reclined position, said mounting means including front and rearguiding members engaging spaced points on the seat, a fixed pivot incooperation with said rear guiding member mounting said seat on thesupport, the front guiding member comprising a link pivotally connectedto the forward portion of the seat, a pivot journalled at the lower endof the front guiding link, and an open-ended pivot bearing on thesupport providing a releasable pivot mount for the front guiding link onthe support, the seat and back-rest unit being guided rearwardlyrelative to the support by both front and rear guiding members duringsaid first motion phase to the intermediate tilted position, stop meansengageable with the rear guiding member at the end of said first motionphase to retard further rearward movement of the seat and back-rest unitbetween said fixed pivot and the rear guiding member, the unit beingthen movable to said fullytilted position through said second motionphase constituting a pivotal movement of said seat about theinterconnected fixed pivot and said rear guiding member, said frontguiding link being lifted with the forward portion of the seat away fromthe open-ended pivot bearing on the support during said second motionphase, and means locking the front guide member in position during thesecond motion phase whereby the pivot at the lower end of said frontguide member is in position to reenter the open-ended pivot bearing whenthe unit is returned from the fully-reclined position to theintermediate tilted position.

2. A reclining chair according to claim 1 which also includes aleg-rest, wherein said locking means for the front guide membercomprises a control linkage mounting the leg-rest on the seat formovement from a retracted position beneath the seat to an extendedposition forwardly of and substantially at the level of said seat, andactuating means for the control linkage, said actuating means includinga rigid extension of said front guiding link extending beyond thepivotal connection of said front guiding link with the seat, and meansconnecting said extension to said leg-rest control linkage, the frontguiding link, the leg-rest and the leg-rest control linkage being raisedwith the forward portion of the seat during the second motion phase tomaintain the leg-rest in extended position at the fully-reclinedposition of the seat and back-rest unit, said rigid extension of saidfront guiding link and said connecting means assuming an in-linerelationship during said second motion phase and in said intermediatetilted position and said fully reclined position for locking said frontguiding means in position during the second motion phase.

3. A reclining chair according to claim 2 in which the leg-rest controllinkage comprises a support link ri idly connected to the leg-rest andpivotally mounted at the front portion of the seat.

4. A reclining chair according to claim 2 in which the leg-rest controllinkage comprises a pair of depending links pivotally mounted at spacedpoints on the forward portion of the seat, a pair ofrearwardly-extending links pivotally connected at spaced points to theleg-rest and pivot means interconnecting said pairs of links to providea double four-bar linkage structure coupling the leg-rest to the seat.

5. A reclining chair comprising a support, a bodysupporting unitcomprising a seat and back-rest rigid with each other, means mountingthe body-supporting unit on the support for movement between an uprightsitting position, an intermediate rearwardly-inclined position, and afullyatilted position, a leg-rest, and control means mounting theleg-rest on the seat for movement from a retracted position beneath theseat to an extended position forwardly of and substantially at the levelof said seat, said mounting means including a front guiding link andrear guiding means respectively supporting the front and rear portionsof the seat, said rear guiding means being mounted on the support,releasable pivot means mounting the lower end of the front guiding linkon the support in the upright sitting position of the unit, the frontguiding link and rear guiding means guiding the unit rearwardly througha first motion phase to the intermediate position, and stop meansengaging the rear guiding means to halt the first motion phase when theunit reaches its intermediate rearwardly-inclined position, saidleg-rest control means comprising link means connecting said leg-rest tothe forward end of the seat, and including a lever pivotally mounted onthe seat and operatively connected to the leg-rest, the lever having anextension projecting beyond the pivotal mount of the lever on the seat,a rigid extension of said front guiding link extending beyond thepivotal connection of said front guiding link with the seat, and meansconnecting said front guiding link extension to said lever extension,the front guiding links and rear guiding means pivoting rearwardly tomove said bodysupporting unit through the first motion phase and toactuate said leg-rest link means through said extensions and movesaidleg-rest from its retracted to its extended position, the unitpivoting only on said rear guiding means when the unit is moved througha second motion phase from its intermediate tilted position to itsfully-reclined position, and the front portion of said seat, the frontguiding link, the leg-rest and the leg-rest control linkage being raisedaway from said releasable pivot means, whereby to prevent furthermovement of the leg-rest relative to the seat, said rigid extension ofsaid front guiding link and said connecting means assuming an in-linerelationship in said intermediate rearwardly-inclined position andthrough said second motion phase such that said releasable pivot meansbetween said front guiding link and said support engage when said seatis moved from said fully tilted position to said intermediaterearwardly-inclined position.

6. A reclining chair comprising a support, a rigid seat and back-restunit, mounting means movably mounting said unit on said support forrearward movement from an upright sitting position, a leg-rest andcontrol means movably mounting the leg-rest on the seat, said mountingmeans including front and rear guiding links respectively pivoted attheir upper ends to spaced points on the seat, a fixed pivot mountingthe lower end of said rear guiding link on the support, releasable pivotmeans mounting the lower end of said front guiding link on the supportat a point spaced forwardly of said fixed pivot, said guiding linksbeing forwardly inclined in the upright sitting position of said unitand pivoting rearwardly on their pivotal mounts on the support to guidethe unit rearwardly through a first motion phase, stop means on thesupport engaging said rear guiding link at the end of said first motionphase and limiting further pivoting movement of said rear guiding linkabout its pivotal mount on the support, the unit being further movableafter engagement with said stop means through a second motion phaseconstituting a rearward pivotal movement of said unit about the pivotalconnection of said rear guiding link with the seat, said front guidinglink being lifted by the seat away from said releasable pivot meansduring said second motion phase, said leg-rest control means including asupport rod pivotally mounting the leg-rest on the forward portion ofthe seat for movement between an extended and a retracted position, arigid extension on said front guiding link extending beyond the pivotalconnection of the front guiding link to the' seat, and an actuating linkconnecting said support rod with said front link extension, the rearwardpivoting movement of said front guiding link during said first motionphase actuating said support rod to raise said leg-rest to its extendedposition through said extension and said actuating link, and stop meansfor limiting rearward pivoting movement of said front guiding link to aposition in which said extension isaligned with said actuating link in adead-center position, whereby the leg-rest is retained in an extendedposition when said first guiding link is raised from said releasablepivot means during said second motion phase.

7. A reclining chair according to claim 6 in which said rigid extensionis substantially perpendicular to the axis of said front guiding link.

8. YA reclining chair according to claim 7 in which said support rod isa double-armed lever, one arm of which carries the leg-rest and theother arm of which is pivotally connected to one end of said actuatinglink, the other end of said actuating link being pivotally connected tothe free end of said rigid extension.

9. A reclining chair according to claim 8 in which the rigid extensionextends upwardly and rearwardly in the upright sitting position of theunit and is moved to a downwardly sand rearwardly-extending positionwhen the front guiding link pivots rearwardly during said first motionphase, the rigid extension being substantially in axial alignment withsaid actuating link at the end of said first motion phase.

10. A reclining chair according to claim 9 in which the stop means forlimiting pivoting movement of said front guiding link comprises a slotcarried by said seat and receiving a pivot pin carried by the lower endof said front guiding link.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS947,298 Deimel 1 Jan. 25, 1910 1,274,532 Gilda Aug. 6, 1918 1,519,674Dyke Dec. 16, 1924 2,767,772 Forry Oct. 23, 1956 2,873,791 SchliephackeFeb. 17, 1959 2,892,485 Schliephacke June 30, 11959 2,918,110Schliephacke Dec. 22, 1959 2,918,1 13 Lorenz Dec. 22, 1959 2,940,510Schliephacke June 14, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 736,782 France Sept. 26, 193242,408 France Apr. 25, 1933 (1st Addition to No. 714,601) 492,375 CanadaApr. 28, 1953

1. A RECLINING CHAIR COMPRISING A SUPPORT, A RIGID SEAT AND BACK-RESTUNIT, AND MEANS MOVABLY MOUNTING SAID UNIT ON SAID SUPPORT FOR MOVEMENTFROM AN UPRIGHT SITTING POSITION THROUGH A FIRST MOTION PHASE TO ANINTERMEDIATE TILTED POSITION AND THEN FOR FURTHER MOVEMENT THROUGH ASECOND MOTION PHASE FROM THE INTERMEDIATE TILTED POSITION TO AFULLY-RECLINED POSITION, SAID MOUNTING MEANS INCLUDING FRONT AND REARGUIDING MEMBERS ENGAGING SPACED POINTS ON THE SEAT, A FIXED PIVOT INCOOPERATION WITH SAID REAR GUIDING MEMBER MOUNTING SAID SEAT ON THESUPPORT, THE FRONT GUIDING MEMBER COMPRISING A LINK PIVOTALLY CONNECTEDTO THE FORWARD PORTION OF THE SEAT, A PIVOT JOURNALLED AT THE LOWER ENDOF THE FRONG GUIDING LINK, AND AN OPEN-ENDED PIVOT BEARING ON THESUPPORT PROVIDING A RELEASABLY PIVOT MOUNT FOR THE FRONT GUIDING LINK ONTHE SUPPORT, THE SEAT AND BACK-REST UNIT BEING GUIDED REARWARDLYRELATIVE TO THE SUPPORT BY BOTH FRONT AND REAR GUIDING MEMBERS DURINGSAID FIRST MOTION PHASE TO THE INTERMEDIATE TILTED POSITION, STOP MEANSENGAGEABLE WITH THE REAR GUIDING MEMBER AT THE END OF SAID FIRST MOTIONPHASE TO RETARD FURTHER REARWARD MOVEMENT OF THE SEAT AND BACK-REST UNITBETWEEN SAID FIXED PIVOT AND THE REAR GUIDING MEMBER, THE UNIT BEINGTHEN MOVABLE TO SAID FULLYTUTING A PIVOTAL MOVEMENT OF SAID SEAT ABOUTTHE INTERTUTING A PIVOTAL MOVEMENT OF SAID SEAT ABOUT THE INTERCONNECTEDFIXED PIVOT AND SAID REAR GUIDING MEMBER, SAID FRONT GUIDING LINK BEINGLIFTED WITH THE FORWARD PORTION OF THE SEAT AWAY FROM THE OPEN-ENDEDPIVOT BEARING ON THE SUPPORT DURING SAID SECOND MOTION PHASE, AND MEANSLOCKING THE FRONT GUIDE MEMBER IN POSITION DURING THE SECOND MOTIONPHASE WHEREBY THE PIVOT AT THE LOWER END OF SAID FRONT GUIDE MEMBER ISIN POSITION TO REENTER THE OPEN-ENDED PIVOT BEARING WHEN THE UNIT ISRETURNED FROM THE FULLY-RECLINED POSITION TO THE INTERMEDIATE TILTEDPOSITION.